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Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin (Colossus)

Last character, at least for now, revealed in the pics from X-Men: Days of Future Past, another old acquaintance: Colossus, portrayed by Daniel Cudmore. Colossus, real name Peter Rasputin, already appeared in the first three movies in the series: in X-Men he only had a small cameo as a student sketching in the courtyard; in X2: X-Men Unitedhe fought against William Stryker‘s men during the school’s invasion and helped some children escape; in X-Men: The Last Standhe finally entered the team officially and fought alongside the X-Men against the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in Alcatraz. It’s unknown what role he’ll have in the movie yet, or how big it’ll be, but he’ll appear in the present part, along with old Professor Xand Magneto. Let’s see who this Russian mutant is in the comics.

Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin was born near Lake Baikal, in Siberia, from simple farmers Nikolai and Alexandra Rasputin. He had an older brother, famous cosmonaut Mikhail Rasputin, who he adored, and a younger sister, Illyana, who he loved and protected. A simple man with an artist’s soul, Piotr enjoyed painting and drawing, and loved the farmer’s life of the Ust-Ordynski Collective, the cooperative farm he and his family worked in. During adolescence, his mutant powers first appeared: he was able to turn his body into organic steel and to gain from it superhuman strength, stamina and durability. At first, he used his powers to help the people from the Collective, working twice as anybody else in the farm. In those years, Mikhail apparently died when his space rocket exploded, and Piotr took upon himself the responsibility of being the older male in the family. One day, little Illyana was about to be crushed by a tractor out of control, and Piotr used his powers to save her, crashing the machine with no effort: this act of heroism attracted the attention of Charles Xavier, a powerful American telepath who was searching around the world worthy young people to form the second formation of his X-Men, since the first one had gone missing during a fight with Krakoa, the living island. Piotr was at first reluctant to leave the farm, since, thanks to his strength, much of the work in the Collective was his doing; he didn’t want to leave his family either. Xavier, anyway, convinced him that he could have done a lot of good to the world if he joined the X-Men, using his powers for helping not only his small Collective, but the entire human and mutant populations. Eager to help other people, Piotr accepted Xavier’s offer and left Russia, becoming a member of the second X-Men team. Along with the other X-Men Xavier had recruited (Kenyan Ororo “Storm” Munroe, German Kurt “Nightcrawler” Wagner, Canadian James “Wolverine” Howlett, Apache John “Thunderbird” Proudstarand Irish Sean “Banshee” Cassidy), Piotr, now codenamed Colossus, battled and defeated the sentient island Krakoa and freed the original X-Men. When most of the first team left the School for Gifted Youngsters, Colossus chose to stay, becoming a full-time X-Men.

Colossus fought many battles along with his companions, also in remote zones such as the Shi’ar Empire or the Savage Land, always proving more than useful in battle despite his gentle and pacifist spirit. Piotr, called “Peter” by his American friends, proved to be a worthy opponent also for historical nemesis of the X-Men, such as the Juggernaut(one of the few able to surpass him in strength with ease) or Magneto himself. Colossus became a close friend of both Nightcrawler and Wolverine, forming with them a formidable trio. Peter faced some great challenges that tested his character, such as when Arcade brainwashed him and forced him to fight against his friends in his Murderworld, or when his sister Illyana was kidnapped: Arcade’s right-hand woman, Miss Locke, had in fact abducted some X-Men’s beloved ones to force them to free her master from Dr. Doom, and among them there was Colossus’ little sister. When the team defeated Locke and Aracade and freed the hostages, Peter decided it was safer to keep Illyana by his side, and the young girl was allowed to stay in Xavier’s Mansion. Unfortunately, the six-year old kid was kidnapped once again, this time by the sorcerer Belasco, who locked her into the demonic dimension called Limbo; the X-Men managed to save her, but, while on Earth Illyana stayed away only a few hours, in Limbo seven years had passed, and she came back to them a teenager broken after years of tortures. Colossus became even closer to his sister, in order to help her recover from her traumatic experience; he also started to feel a certain affection towards another X-Man, Kitty Pryde, but both of them were too shy to admit their feelings. Everything changed after the X-Men almost died at the ends of the alien race Brood: Peter and Kitty finally declared their attraction, and started dating. In the following years, when Illyana died because of the Legacy Virus, Colossus lost his original resolution, and even joined Magneto and his Acolytes for a while, but at the end he came back to the X-Men, knowing what was right to do with his powers.

Peter Rasputin is a sensitive and caring man, selfless and gentle, with the soul of a poet and the body of a giant. His mutant powers allow him to turn his body into a nearly indestructible organic steel, gaining strength and durability in the process, and the training in the Danger Room made him a terrific hand-to-hand fighter, especially in combo with Nightcrawler or Wolverine. A painter, a worker, and especially a good friend for everyone, Peter is the heart and soul of the X-Men, one of the pillars that keep the team united.

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